I used to call it charm.
He's so good with people, I'd tell friends. Ronald just knows how to read a room.
I'd also called it emotional intelligence. Social instinct. A gift.
But watching Catherine exhibit the exact same quality, something in my stomach turned. It didn't feel like charm anymore. It felt like something with teeth.
Coincidence, I told myself. That's all.
I pressed down the unease and reached for the restroom door.
But before I could push it open, Catherine's voice slipped through the gap.
"...You're certain continued use won't be detected?" The tone was nothing like the ones I'd catalogued at her table. Not warm. Not poised. Sharp. Interrogative. A blade wrapped in silk. "She still hasn't noticed?"
I stopped breathing.
My hand froze on the door. Every nerve in my bo
